


Gifts

by Gwenhwyfar1984



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Romance, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-26 23:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2670014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenhwyfar1984/pseuds/Gwenhwyfar1984
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl and Carol exchange gifts, and their relationship changes. Set between seasons 3 and 4. Not a Christmas story!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Walking Dead is the property of AMC Studios, Circle of Confusion, Darkwood Productions, Valhalla Motion Pictures and possibly other large companies. I am not connected to these companies. I Do Not Own.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye throughout the council meeting. It was more interesting. There was nothing really important on the agenda; they were mainly meeting to keep up appearances. At the moment, the prison community was running smoothly.  
So he entertained himself watching Carol absentmindedly play with a rip in her tank top. It looked like it had been repaired several times, and had finally worn out. Truthfully, everybody was looking a little more worn than usual.  
“So if there is anything else, I think we can get on with our day.” Hershel said.  
“We need a run.” Daryl announced, surprising himself.  
“For?”  
“Clothes. We need them.”  
“It’s true. I know my stuff has been sewn within an inch of its life.” Sasha agreed.  
Everybody else agreed, and it was decided that he and Glenn would go out the next day. Feeling satisfied they had done something, the group ended the meeting.

Glenn, of course, knew where to go. He was still the best one to send on runs. Daryl was mainly there as backup. The young man took them to a small clothing store located in what was so small it wasn’t even really a town. The two men got their bags and, after taking care of a walker, started stuffing as much clothing as they could into bags. Daryl was moving towards the back when he saw it.  
It was red. Not Christmas red, but not blood red either. An in-between red. It had short sleeves, and the front collar tied with a ribbon. It was almost…pretty.  
Not that he would ever use that word.  
It was the kind of thing he thought that she would like. Practical, but nice. And she had been wearing more red recently.  
“It’s nice.” Glenn interrupted his thoughts. “You gonna get it?”  
Daryl looked away from it and grabbed a random pile of t-shirts. “Not really my style.”  
“Not for you. For—“ Daryl gave him a look that let the young man know that he should not finish the sentence. “—somebody else, of course. She’d like it.”  
Daryl furiously shoved clothing into his bag, silent. He was upset that Glenn seemed to know exactly who he had been eyeing it for. He wasn’t that obvious, was he?  
No. He had barely realized things for himself. Hell, he still wasn’t sure. Certainly nobody else had noticed.  
Once Glenn had walked away, he grabbed the shirt and stuffed it into the bag.

The clothing run boosted the mood of the groups. The two men hurriedly deposited their finds in the common areas, and were quickly surrounded by people. Daryl took the red shirt and escaped to C Block.  
What was he supposed to do? Just hand it to her? That could leave things open for some very awkward conversation that he did not want. Perhaps it would be best to just leave it for her to find.  
He wadded it up on a ball. This was stupid. He should have just left it in the pile.  
Beth was carrying Judith and heading towards the common room. She greeted him with a smile. “Anything good?”  
“Wrong person to ask. I just got what was there.”  
She laughed and looked at the bundle of fabric in his hands. “What’s that?”  
He felt the absurd urge to pretend to have not heard her. Instead he handed her the item. She took it and held it up with one hand.  
“Pretty.”  
He crossed his arms and grunted noncommittally.  
“Hold on.” She handed him the baby and disappeared into her cell. A few moments later she returned and handed it back to him. “That’s better.”  
He gave her back the baby and noticed a faint scent coming from the fabric. “The hell? Smells like dessert!”  
Beth giggled. “Exactly. Maggie picked up some sprays a few weeks ago. She says that it is better than the scent of filth, blood, and walkers.”  
She hurried off and Daryl shook his head. Women. This was not the place for fancy scents.  
Though it was kinda nice…

The block was mostly empty, so he hurried up to the second level. He would just place it on her bunk. Simple.  
He didn’t think she was there, but to be on the safe side he knocked on the bars of the door. And because his luck was terrible, she poked her head out.  
“You’re here.” He stated dumbly. Smart, real smart.  
“Yeah. Judith spit up on me so I had to change before story time. Did you need something?” She pulled the curtain aside and stepped out.  
This he hadn’t been expecting. It was supposed to be minimal interaction. Now what was he supposed to say?  
It shouldn’t be that hard. This was Carol. Other than Rick, he found her the easiest to talk to. That was when he wanted to talk, of course. Most of the time he didn’t, and she understood that. She was mostly a silent presence nearby.  
So he went with what he knew and held out the shirt.  
She took it and held it up. “Thank you.” She wrinkled her nose and curiously sniffed it.  
“Beth.” He muttered.  
“Oh. Well now I don’t have to go fight the crowd.” She placed it in her cell.  
“The crowd never saw it.” He admitted.  
“Really?” She headed for the stairs. “That’s not thinking like a council member.”  
“Yeah well, Glenn already knows about it, so between the three of us, we can outvote Sasha and Hershel.”  
“Who says I would side with you?” She gave him a small smirk and headed down the stairs.  
Damn.  
He leaned against the metal railing and watched her walk away. Huh. She had certainly changed in the last year. More so since they had settled at the prison.  
At first he had been surprised. In the beginning she had been quiet and very dependent. Then she slowly began to change to this. He had been worried that she would become so different that he would not want to be around her. Now he knew the opposite was true.  
That scared him.

* * *  
Carol slipped on her new shirt. It fit pretty well. Not tight, but not baggy either. She was surprised that he had been able to guess her size. He was very observant, but the thought that he had been observing her that closely…well, it sent scary and good shivers through her.  
She knew the moment that she became attracted to him. It was when he had saved her from certain death in the prison solitary cell. He had come in like a knight in a sleeveless shirt. At first she had thought that it was just a reaction to escaping death. Then it had not gone away and she realized that it was more.  
It was a surprise. After Ed had died, she had thought that she was done with men. But Daryl was the complete opposite of Ed, and she knew that. He had had a lot of anger at first, but it had slowly dissipated and the good man underneath came through.  
She shouldn’t even be thinking that though. He wouldn’t feel the same way. This was just a nice gesture.

Picking Judith up from Rick, she headed for the outdoor grill. “Your Daddy is getting an early start today, so you get to help me make breakfast, Baby Girl.”  
She set the infant in her playpen a safe distance from the grill. Judith smiled and gave her a string of babble. “I’m going to take that as a good luck.”  
Powdered eggs and meat were on the menu, so she got to work.

Glenn, Maggie, Beth, and Hershel came out and sat at one of the picnic tables. Glenn smiled at her. “Nice shirt.”  
“Thanks.” She narrowed her eyes as he turned to his family. They talked softly among themselves, but occasionally glanced her way.  
She pretended not to notice, but she felt uneasy. Being the topic of gossip was something she hated. It had been common among the other mothers at Sophia’s school when she would show up with bruises and breaks. Common among her neighbors, who heard the fights.  
“How’s Lil Asskicker this morning?” Only one person called the baby that. She glanced over and saw Daryl leaning over the playpen. “Finally slept through the night! Must be well rested.” Judith cooed. “Lotsa energy. Come on.” The baby laughed and vigorously kicked her legs. “Living up to your name. High five.” He leaned in and lightly tapped her hands.  
Carol handed him a plate. “Careful, a fan club is going to form.”  
“Stop.” He ate so fast she feared he would choke.  
“Just saying. Strong, tough—“ Handsome… “Good hunter, good with babies…”  
“Pfft.” He tossed the empty plate into the bin and stalked off. But he glanced back, taking in that she was wearing his gift. A hint of a smile crossed his lips.  
She contemplated the crossbow on his back and knew what she wanted to give him in return.

Michonne was at a picnic table examining a map when Carol hesitantly approached her. The quiet woman looked surprised, and Carol didn’t blame her. They had rarely interacted. Michonne was usually with Rick and Carl.  
“I was wondering if you can do me a favor?” She asked. Michonne was silent, so she took that as a sign to continue. “When you are out, can you possible get me some strong sticks? About this long and this wide?” She demonstrated with her hands.  
“How many?”  
“Twelve, if possible. As straight as you can get, please?”  
Michonne nodded, and didn’t ask any questions about the unusual request. Carol was grateful, and after thanking her went in search of other things she needed.

She found sandpaper in the prison, and that evening after getting the sticks, she got to work. Every night she was at it, fashioning one end into sharp points, sanding and smoothing the entire lengths. On the opposite ends she added feathers she had saved. Finally, after a week, she had a set of arrows.

Daryl was outside cleaning out a car. She approached him, anxiety building with every step. The old voice was coming back. The one that told her that this was stupid, that she had probably made them wrong. He would mock her for even trying. That she was stupid for attempting it.  
He looked up when she reached him. “Hey.”  
Without a word, she handed him the arrows, wrapped in a cloth. He unrolled the bundle and examined her work.  
“Did you make these?”  
She nodded, leaning against the side of the car, arms crossed. “I was just guessing. I don’t know if they are any good.”  
“No, they’re good.” He held one up. “Real good.”  
She felt pride that banished the doubts. She hadn’t messed them up. “I know you already have a set, but if you run out…” She shrugged and straightened.  
“Thanks.”

* * *  
Over the next few months, it almost became a game. He would get her something, and she would return the favor. After the arrows, he got her some lightly scented soap. That was Maggie’s idea, of course. She responded by stealing all of his clean clothes and repairing the rips. He then got her a new jacket, light weight and brown. She made him some socks out of the sleeves of his shirts. The last gift from him had been a small bag of cinnamon flavored candy. Once she had mentioned that it was her favorite flavor. At the time, he had thought that it was at odds with her personality. Now, he knew differently.  
“What’re you doing?” Glenn asked. Daryl, Glenn, and Hershel were doing an inventory on the weapons.  
“What’s it look like?” He replied, holding up a box of ammo.  
“No, I mean with Carol.”  
“Glenn…” Hershel quietly warned. Smart man.  
Either the young man was brave or just stupid because he continued. “You’ve been dancing around each other for months. We had finally thought you were getting your acts together, but it was nothing.”  
He couldn’t help it. He had to ask. “We?”  
“Everybody!” Glenn clarified. Hershel shook his head and looked resigned. “Look, if you want to be with her, do it. Otherwise, someone else will. Or you could be dead tomorrow.”  
Daryl furiously counted the bullets. Was everybody talking about his love life, or lack thereof? Fucking gossips. He hated it. It was just like his childhood. Oh, they would not say anything to your face, but behind your back it was buzz buzz buzz like bees.  
“It’s a goddamn disaster situation, not some chick movie! Ain’t got time for that.”  
“I’ll be sure to tell Maggie.” Glenn retorted.  
Daryl glanced at Hershel, who just nodded. “He’s right. We gotta live life while we can.”  
He set down the bullets, not caring that they scattered, and stalked off. He didn’t need them butting in where they had no business being.

That night he avoided the group. He didn’t want to do anything to add to the gossip. It was a quiet evening, the sun having set, the sky getting darker. It was the time of day he liked the most. In the distance he could hear the growl of walkers on the other side of the fences.  
“Mind if I join you?” Carol asked. He had heard her walking up, but hadn’t said anything. Well, now the gossips would surely talk.  
He gestured for her to sit at the table with him. “Thought you were enjoying the entertainment.”  
She chuckled. “Beth and Maggie have nice voices, but there is only so much singing I can take.”  
“I hear ya.”  
There was a soft clicking noise and he saw that she had a small handful of the candies. She offered him one, but he declined. They were hers.  
He sat in silence, trying to ignore how close she was to him, but couldn’t. Damn it!  
Glenn was right. He had seen other men looking at her. She seemed oblivious, but it probably wouldn’t be for long. Then he would have to stand by as they were a happy couple. Knowing that they would slip away and…  
Screw that!  
Slowly, he reached over and gently took the hand that she had resting on her leg. To his surprise, she didn’t pull it away, instead turned hers so that their fingers were intertwined. Her hands were not completely soft, but lightly calloused. Hands that worked every day. He liked the feel, the warmth.  
He didn’t say anything as they sat, and neither did she.

* * *  
Reluctantly, Carol knew that she had to let go and get to bed. It, like every day, had been a long and busy. Gently, she pulled out of his grasp and stood.  
She motioned towards the building and he nodded. At the last second, gathering every ounce of courage, and pushing down her doubts and fears, she leaned over and pressed her lips to his.  
For a second, neither of them moved. She felt foolish, fully expecting him to push her away, curse at her, and stomp off into the night.  
It only lasted for a second though, because he was then kissing her back. His hands came up and rested on her waist, and he depended the kiss.  
It wasn’t a chaste kiss, but there was no tongue or groping either. It was nice, and she was content just to enjoy the feel of his lips against hers.  
The need for air made them separate. For a moment she stood in his embrace, catching her breath. After giving his arms a light squeeze, she turned and walked away without speaking. No words were needed. Actions spoke louder anyway.


End file.
